Not giving money

If there is one question I get asked most often by people who don’t work in international development, it’s what can I do beyond just giving money?

First of all, there is no “just” about giving money. Money is the lifeblood of international development. We can’t run programs without money. And improving international trade and supporting economies in the developing world – also all about money. So we could stop right here. Giving money is fantastic.

I suspect that people want to do something other than donate for three reasons. First, they may just not have money — which is unarguable. Second, they may have money and don’t trust NGOs. Third, they may want to feel a personal connection to what they are doing.

If you don’t want to give your money because you can’t afford it, or you don’t trust people to use your money well, I would suggest connecting to local groups. Volunteer in your own community where your expertise is valued and you can choose an organizational partner that you trust. Your time is most valuable closest to where you or your area of expertise. Therefore, you are most useful volunteering in your neighborhood with a community group, or doing your professional work pro bono for an organization you believe in.

The third case is the one that really intrigues me. People want meaning in their lives, and in their philanthropy. They want a sense of belonging and meaning that doesn’t come from their Visa card. Change.org and Jumo were efforts to capture this desire for connectedness and meaning, but I don’t think either one quite hit the mark. Eventually someone is going to find the magic sweet spot of doing, giving, and belonging, and they will have an incredibly powerful source of support and funding. (Maybe the Obama 2008 campaign is an example?)

If you want to feel like an actor as well as a donor, you can fundraise. Reaching out to people, advocating and bringing in money is more active than handing over your credit card number. Many organizations have networks of fundraisers, and if you develop a long term relationship with one group you become an insider, not an outsider.

If fundraising is not your thing, I can suggest you do is become an ethical purchaser. A middle class consumer in a wealthy country has a lot of buying choices to make. You can choose sustainable, ethical products and you can refuse to do business with companies that harm the world.

It’s nearly impossible to pressure governments. See our current Syria mess as an example. Governments have taxes and armies and therefore the power to coerce. But you can pressure a corporation. In the end, corporations need customers, one way or the other. The fear of losing those customers is a motivator for corporations. No matter how big a corporation is, a big enough media mess and the threat of customer boycott can scare them. Any one of us can make that mess. Think of Molly Katchpole, the Bank of America card fee woman.

Yes, big business is, well, big. And there is a global capitalist system pushing us all in single-profit maximizing direction. But there are levers, and if you’re reading this blog you have the internet skills to find and push them.

So, if you want to make a difference, the first thing you need to do is give money to professional aid agencies that run programs that actually work. Doing that is enough. But if it doesn’t feel meaningful, then become a fundraiser, volunteer in your own community where your time is most valuable, and become an active, ethical consumer.

-You may not have much luck pressuring foreign governments, but you should be able to send a message to your own government. Every country could always do a better job supporting development. Find an issue that’s relevant to your country (trade laws? subsidies? the 0.7% aid target? refugees? immigration?) and pressure your local representative.

Microfinance can be incredibly effective and empowering when implemented correctly. Lendwithcare.org, which was launched by CARE International and The Co-operative, works with microfinance institutions with a strong social mission to help people to pull themselves out of poverty. Plus your loan can be small – from £15.

Great post. I agree on nearly all fronts, although consumer advocacy makes me nervous. I find that far too often consumers aren’t able to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions (e.g., product boycotts of goods manufactured using child labor, etc). It’s unfortunately all too often that well meaning advocacy does more harm than good.

I think this article does a great job of explaining the different kinds of help and aid that we can donate. Personally, I have come to believe that the most important ingredient in donation is knowledge. It is easy to be misled or ignorant about certain aid organizations or strategies, and many (including myself) have donated time and money that resulted in no progress and was, simply put, a giant waste. To be informed is vital, and without it we cannot possibly seek to make a real difference. Like the article said, with the mass media and the internet at our fingertips, there are so many ways to become aware. Giving money without knowing exactly where it goes and what the result would be is aimless ignorance. I feel like the third question the author elaborates on is the most intriguing, because it displays a key point of human nature: that on some level, we all want to feel a sense of solidarity with the human race. Giving money is obviously a key ingredient for aid, but an actual connection, and the gift of time and effort is priceless, and without this I feel that aid is, on some level, rendered null and void. I also agree that pressuring governments can be fruitless, and private organizations is the way to go. Great article!

Giving money doesn’t feel like any form of an accomplishment because the feeling of helping someone is instant and short. I appreciate your ideas on how to be involved without just giving money as well as not shipping overseas for months at a time. Though avoiding certain companies can be difficult, if people want to change their actions then they can easily accomplish that small task.
My post however asks a certain question about the businesses: what can we do? A customer scare is their nightmare, but one customer doesn’t just cause one? What can we really do? And as you mentioned in your blog, big business is BIG. Government cannot (easily) be scared or changed. So how does someone so small stop/change something so big? I’d like to have seen something like that in this article to find our your thoughts on the subject and businesses you would possibly target.

Giving money to aid agencies is a great way to help international development…but only if you know how the money is truly being spent. Well meaning dollars can easily fall into the wrong hands and may not help the citizens it was intended to aid. It is extremely important to do your homework before handing over your favorite piece of plastic. Volunteering your time and expertise it a wonderful way to help those in need. When you spend your time with the people you are trying to help you have a much clearer picture of what they need and how they can best be helped.

I agree with your main points within your post. As somebody who is very active within my community, I can say that the most rewarding feeling is playing an active role within your community and seeing how your work positively affects those who need help. You never clearly stated what your thoughts are on what the most effective thing an individual can do, although you offered suggestions to those who simply cannot or will not donate money. I believe the most effective thing one can do in international development is a combination of three of your suggestions: give whatever money they can to organizations that can be trusted, fundraise, and play an active role within their local community.

I agree that giving money is a good way to help, though people seem to forget how much so and give it inattentively. However, I’m unsure as to whether you’re saying that the benefit of being personally connected to aid is unimportant to the recipient or the donor. If you’re saying that becoming personally involved is unimportant because oftentimes it is only a way to feel better about oneself, then I agree. When we give to feel good about ourselves, our efforts become focused on visible results (to make ourselves feel even better). On the other hand, if you’re saying that becoming personally involved is of no benefit to the recipient, I disagree. I think that becoming directly involved—working onsite, talking to people, being knowledgeable on aid—improves the quality of donation. Were more people to move beyond writing their yearly check to their charity of choice and actually get involved in their communities (as you suggest), I think we would see a noticeable difference. More people would be working (whether through correspondence or in person) with recipients to understand in which areas they most need assistance. When we give money, we often just assume it will be put to good use and we don’t feel a need to follow up on whether it was or not. So I agree that “giving money is fantastic” if we combine it with taking the time to know how it’s being used or getting involved with using it (as you suggest, in our communities). Becoming personally involved—in my opinion—ties people to their efforts and makes them care more. Becoming involved makes aid real, instead of some vague notion of “doing good” by just throwing money at the poor. It makes people truly invested in improving aid.

I think that it’s a great point that the average consumer in a more developed nation can influence development through their everyday purchases. It would not necessarily take a strenuous effort to try to make some sort of difference, but people seem to think that even small change is out of their reach. As seen with the consumer backlash against banks for erroneous fees, customers can make big corporations listen to their demands and their pocket books. There has been a phenomenon of the “zombie consumer” buying what is the cheapest, most convenient, or usual. It is intriguing what we, as consumers, could achieve by simply thinking a little harder about our weekly grocery run. This goes to show the power of cash and that “just giving money” or knowing what you buy can be greatly influential.

Big Fat Important Disclaimer

NOTHING I SAY ON THIS BLOG REPRESENTS THE VIEWS OF USAID OR THE US GOVERNMENT. Everything written here is purely my personal opinion. The contents of this blog are the responsibility of me, Alanna Shaikh, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the U.S. Government.

Disclaimer

Everything written here is purely my personal opinion. The contents of this blog are the responsibility of me, Alanna Shaikh, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the U.S. Government.